Psalm 42-59

Psalm 42-59New International Version (NIV)

BOOK II

Psalms 42–72

1 As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, my God.2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When can I go and meet with God?3 My tears have been my foodday and night,while people say to me all day long,“Where is your God?”4 These things I rememberas I pour out my soul:how I used to go to the house of Godunder the protection of the Mighty One[d]with shouts of joy and praiseamong the festive throng.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me;therefore I will remember youfrom the land of the Jordan,the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.7 Deep calls to deepin the roar of your waterfalls;all your waves and breakershave swept over me.

8 By day the Lord directs his love,at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock,“Why have you forgotten me?Why must I go about mourning,oppressed by the enemy?”10 My bones suffer mortal agonyas my foes taunt me,saying to me all day long,“Where is your God?”

11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.

1 Vindicate me, my God,and plead my causeagainst an unfaithful nation.Rescue me from those who aredeceitful and wicked.2 You are God my stronghold.Why have you rejected me?Why must I go about mourning,oppressed by the enemy?3 Send me your light and your faithful care,let them lead me;let them bring me to your holy mountain,to the place where you dwell.4 Then I will go to the altar of God,to God, my joy and my delight.I will praise you with the lyre,O God, my God.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.

1 We have heard it with our ears, O God;our ancestors have told uswhat you did in their days,in days long ago.2 With your hand you drove out the nationsand planted our ancestors;you crushed the peoplesand made our ancestors flourish.3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,nor did their arm bring them victory;it was your right hand, your arm,and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God,who decrees[h] victories for Jacob.5 Through you we push back our enemies;through your name we trample our foes.6 I put no trust in my bow,my sword does not bring me victory;7 but you give us victory over our enemies,you put our adversaries to shame.8 In God we make our boast all day long,and we will praise your name forever.[i]

9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;you no longer go out with our armies.10 You made us retreat before the enemy,and our adversaries have plundered us.11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheepand have scattered us among the nations.12 You sold your people for a pittance,gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,the scorn and derision of those around us.14 You have made us a byword among the nations;the peoples shake their heads at us.15 I live in disgrace all day long,and my face is covered with shame16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17 All this came upon us,though we had not forgotten you;we had not been false to your covenant.18 Our hearts had not turned back;our feet had not strayed from your path.19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;you covered us over with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our Godor spread out our hands to a foreign god,21 would not God have discovered it,since he knows the secrets of the heart?22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.24 Why do you hide your faceand forget our misery and oppression?

25 We are brought down to the dust;our bodies cling to the ground.26 Rise up and help us;rescue us because of your unfailing love.

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[k] A wedding song.

1 My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses for the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are the most excellent of menand your lips have been anointed with grace,since God has blessed you forever.

3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.4 In your majesty ride forth victoriouslyin the cause of truth, humility and justice;let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;let the nations fall beneath your feet.6 Your throne, O God,[l] will last for ever and ever;a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;therefore God, your God, has set you above your companionsby anointing you with the oil of joy.8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces adorned with ivorythe music of the strings makes you glad.9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women;at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:Forget your people and your father’s house.11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;honor him, for he is your lord.12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,[m]people of wealth will seek your favor.13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber;her gown is interwoven with gold.14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions follow her—those brought to be with her.15 Led in with joy and gladness,they enter the palace of the king.

16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.

17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[o] A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give wayand the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foamand the mountains quake with their surging.[p]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.5 God is within her, she will not fall;God will help her at break of day.6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,the desolations he has brought on the earth.9 He makes wars ceaseto the ends of the earth.He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;he burns the shields[q] with fire.10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth.”

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,the great King over all the earth.3 He subdued nations under us,peoples under our feet.4 He chose our inheritance for us,the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.[s]

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;sing praises to our King, sing praises.7 For God is the King of all the earth;sing to him a psalm of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations;God is seated on his holy throne.9 The nobles of the nations assembleas the people of the God of Abraham,for the kings[t] of the earth belong to God;he is greatly exalted.

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

2 Beautiful in its loftiness,the joy of the whole earth,like the heights of Zaphon[v] is Mount Zion,the city of the Great King.3 God is in her citadels;he has shown himself to be her fortress.

4 When the kings joined forces,when they advanced together,5 they saw her and were astounded;they fled in terror.6 Trembling seized them there,pain like that of a woman in labor.7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshishshattered by an east wind.

8 As we have heard,so we have seenin the city of the Lord Almighty,in the city of our God:God makes her secureforever.[w]

9 Within your temple, O God,we meditate on your unfailing love.10 Like your name, O God,your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;your right hand is filled with righteousness.11 Mount Zion rejoices,the villages of Judah are gladbecause of your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,count her towers,13 consider well her ramparts,view her citadels,that you may tell of themto the next generation.

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;he will be our guide even to the end.

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 Hear this, all you peoples;listen, all who live in this world,2 both low and high,rich and poor alike:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,when wicked deceivers surround me—6 those who trust in their wealthand boast of their great riches?7 No one can redeem the life of anotheror give to God a ransom for them—8 the ransom for a life is costly,no payment is ever enough—9 so that they should live on foreverand not see decay.10 For all can see that the wise die,that the foolish and the senseless also perish,leaving their wealth to others.11 Their tombs will remain their houses[y] forever,their dwellings for endless generations,though they had[z] named lands after themselves.

12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;they are like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[aa]14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;death will be their shepherd(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).Their forms will decay in the grave,far from their princely mansions.15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;he will surely take me to himself.16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,when the splendor of their houses increases;17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,their splendor will not descend with them.18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—and people praise you when you prosper—19 they will join those who have gone before them,who will never again see the light of life.

20 People who have wealth but lack understandingare like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.

1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord,speaks and summons the earthfrom the rising of the sun to where it sets.2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,God shines forth.3 Our God comesand will not be silent;a fire devours before him,and around him a tempest rages.4 He summons the heavens above,and the earth, that he may judge his people:5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,for he is a God of justice.[ab][ac]

7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;I will testify against you, Israel:I am God, your God.8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrificesor concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.9 I have no need of a bull from your stallor of goats from your pens,10 for every animal of the forest is mine,and the cattle on a thousand hills.11 I know every bird in the mountains,and the insects in the fields are mine.12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,for the world is mine, and all that is in it.13 Do I eat the flesh of bullsor drink the blood of goats?

14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,fulfill your vows to the Most High,15 and call on me in the day of trouble;I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

16 But to the wicked person, God says:

“What right have you to recite my lawsor take my covenant on your lips?17 You hate my instructionand cast my words behind you.18 When you see a thief, you join with him;you throw in your lot with adulterers.19 You use your mouth for eviland harness your tongue to deceit.20 You sit and testify against your brotherand slander your own mother’s son.21 When you did these things and I kept silent,you thought I was exactly[ad] like you.But I now arraign youand set my accusations before you.

22 “Consider this, you who forget God,or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,and to the blameless[ae] I will show my salvation.”

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

3 For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me.4 Against you, you only, have I sinnedand done what is evil in your sight;so you are right in your verdictand justified when you judge.5 Surely I was sinful at birth,sinful from the time my mother conceived me.6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.8 Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have crushed rejoice.9 Hide your face from my sinsand blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me from your presenceor take your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvationand grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,so that sinners will turn back to you.14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,you who are God my Savior,and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.15 Open my lips, Lord,and my mouth will declare your praise.16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.17 My sacrifice, O God, is[ag] a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heartyou, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,to build up the walls of Jerusalem.19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,in burnt offerings offered whole;then bulls will be offered on your altar.

For the director of music. A maskil[ai] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?Why do you boast all day long,you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?2 You who practice deceit,your tongue plots destruction;it is like a sharpened razor.3 You love evil rather than good,falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[aj]4 You love every harmful word,you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;he will uproot you from the land of the living.6 The righteous will see and fear;they will laugh at you, saying,7 “Here now is the manwho did not make God his strongholdbut trusted in his great wealthand grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive treeflourishing in the house of God;I trust in God’s unfailing lovefor ever and ever.9 For what you have done I will always praise youin the presence of your faithful people.And I will hope in your name,for your name is good.

For the director of music. According to mahalath.[al] A maskil[am] of David.

1 The fool says in his heart,“There is no God.”They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heavenon all mankindto see if there are any who understand,any who seek God.3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;there is no one who does good,not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;they never call on God.5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,where there was nothing to dread.God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!When God restores his people,let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[ar] of David.

1 Listen to my prayer, O God,do not ignore my plea;2 hear me and answer me.My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught3 because of what my enemy is saying,because of the threats of the wicked;for they bring down suffering on meand assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;the terrors of death have fallen on me.5 Fear and trembling have beset me;horror has overwhelmed me.6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!I would fly away and be at rest.7 I would flee far awayand stay in the desert;[as]8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,for I see violence and strife in the city.10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;malice and abuse are within it.11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,I could endure it;if a foe were rising against me,I could hide.13 But it is you, a man like myself,my companion, my close friend,14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowshipat the house of God,as we walked aboutamong the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,and the Lord saves me.17 Evening, morning and noonI cry out in distress,and he hears my voice.18 He rescues me unharmedfrom the battle waged against me,even though many oppose me.19 God, who is enthroned from of old,who does not change—he will hear them and humble them,because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;he violates his covenant.21 His talk is smooth as butter,yet war is in his heart;his words are more soothing than oil,yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the Lordand he will sustain you;he will never letthe righteous be shaken.23 But you, God, will bring down the wickedinto the pit of decay;the bloodthirsty and deceitfulwill not live out half their days.

For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[au] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

1 Be merciful to me, my God,for my enemies are in hot pursuit;all day long they press their attack.2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;in their pride many are attacking me.

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.4 In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.What can mere mortals do to me?

5 All day long they twist my words;all their schemes are for my ruin.6 They conspire, they lurk,they watch my steps,hoping to take my life.7 Because of their wickedness do not[av] let them escape;in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

8 Record my misery;list my tears on your scroll[aw]—are they not in your record?9 Then my enemies will turn backwhen I call for help.By this I will know that God is for me.

10 In God, whose word I praise,in the Lord, whose word I praise—11 in God I trust and am not afraid.What can man do to me?

12 I am under vows to you, my God;I will present my thank offerings to you.13 For you have delivered me from deathand my feet from stumbling,that I may walk before Godin the light of life.

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[bb]

1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?Do you judge people with equity?2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,however skillful the enchanter may be.

6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[bc]10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.11 Then people will say,“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[be] When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;be my fortress against those who are attacking me.2 Deliver me from evildoersand save me from those who are after my blood.

3 See how they lie in wait for me!Fierce men conspire against mefor no offense or sin of mine, Lord.4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.Arise to help me; look on my plight!5 You, Lord God Almighty,you who are the God of Israel,rouse yourself to punish all the nations;show no mercy to wicked traitors.[bf]

6 They return at evening,snarling like dogs,and prowl about the city.7 See what they spew from their mouths—the words from their lips are sharp as swords,and they think, “Who can hear us?”8 But you laugh at them, Lord;you scoff at all those nations.

9 You are my strength, I watch for you;you, God, are my fortress,10 my God on whom I can rely.

God will go before meand will let me gloat over those who slander me.11 But do not kill them, Lord our shield,[bg]or my people will forget.In your might uproot themand bring them down.12 For the sins of their mouths,for the words of their lips,let them be caught in their pride.For the curses and lies they utter,13 consume them in your wrath,consume them till they are no more.Then it will be known to the ends of the earththat God rules over Jacob.

14 They return at evening,snarling like dogs,and prowl about the city.15 They wander about for foodand howl if not satisfied.

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